


The Joy We've Found

by mamalovesherbagels



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: With lots of fluff, because it's what they deserve, fluff fluff fluff fluff fluff!, just a conversation after the last scene of 3x18
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:53:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24149266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mamalovesherbagels/pseuds/mamalovesherbagels
Summary: A continuation of Maddie and Chimney's conversation at the end of 3x18. Because sometimes things do work out beautifully.
Relationships: Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Comments: 5
Kudos: 39





	The Joy We've Found

“So this is really happening, huh?” Chimney asks, a mystified smile on his face as he slowly traces circles on her stomach with his fingers. It’s bizarre to think about how the shape of her stomach will start to change in a few months.

It’s all bizarre to think about, really, in a wonderful sort of way. And that’s what they had been doing- just lying on the couch together, all cuddled up, thinking about it, until he had broken the silence some twenty minutes later,

“It is,” she agrees, moving her hand to hold his over her belly, “we’re pregnant, Chim. We’re having a baby. This is real.”

“It’s real,” he whispers, nuzzling into her neck, “this is real. We’re going to be parents. Together. And less than two years ago all I knew you by was being Buck’s painfully beautiful sister who needed help setting up her new apartment.”

“Setting up my new apartment to try and keep out my ex-husband, which didn’t happen, and then he almost killed both of us, but we still fell in love. And now we’re having a baby together.”

“Well, when you put it like that,” Howie laughs, “I guess we kind of have lived a lifetime together in the what, year and a half…? That we’ve been together.”

“Yeah, I don’t think we need to worry about anyone else’s timeline, Chimney. We’ve faced some… extraordinary circumstances right from the start. But… it is crazy, isn’t it? Two years ago I didn’t even know you existed. Well, I did, vaguely. I saw you on some of the Christmas cards.”

“You did?”

“I did,” she nods slowly, pausing to take a moment to just sit with the wonder and randomness and serendipity of it all, “I didn’t know who were, though. You were just some cute guy in a photograph.”

“Cute guy in a photograph,” he muses, “not the worst first impression a woman’s ever had of me.”

“Oh, shut up,” she laughs, squeezing his hand which is still stationed on her stomach, “but it’s just… wow. I didn’t even expect to stay here for more than a few days when I first got to L.A. The last thing I ever expected was to start a life here, and to fall in love here. But, I wasn’t expecting to find out I was pregnant, today, so I guess sometimes there’s just something golden about what you can’t see coming.”

“Amen to that,” he murmurs, kissing her cheek, “I’m so glad you came here, Maddie. I’m so glad you stopped in L.A. to see Buck.”

“Me too. And I almost didn’t… I was worried… I hadn’t talked to him in years, literally years. I was scared he’d turn me away. But I just needed to see him, and now I have a life here that I love with a man that I love and a baby that we’re going to have that I love already.”

“I love our little clump of cells soooooooooo much,” he teases, laughing into her hair.

“Clump of cells is biologically true and probably what they resemble most visually right now, being so tiny, but maybe we shouldn’t call our future kid something so impersonal?”

“Yeah, no, you’re right. We’ll think of a better nickname, and an ACTUAL name at some point.”

“Oh my god, we’re going to have to name them. Howie, we’re going to get to pick out a name for our baby. Because our baby is real and we’re going to be parents and this is happening.”

“This is happening,” he grins, kissing all over the top of her head, “and in nine months we’ll have a whole newborn baby to show for it. With a name that we’ll give it, and by then we’ll have a crib and a stroller and all of that good stuff. And a lot of diapers.”

“And a lot of diapers,” she giggles, “it’s so… overwhelming. Little humans need so much stuff.”

“They do, so maybe we need a bigger place to put all that stuff?”

“Maybe,” she says thoughtfully, and if there are butterflies in her stomach at the idea of moving in with him it’s probably just the hormones, “maybe we do need a bigger apartment. But at the very least one of us should probably move in with the other at some point.”

“Yeah, at some point in the next nine months,” he chuckles, “might be kind of hard NOT to live together after the baby gets here. They kind of need a lot of care and attention. And besides, I want to look after you while you’re growing that baby of ours.”

“Chim,” she says, rolling her eyes because she just knew this was coming, “me being pregnant does not mean that you have--”

“Oh, I have to,” he insists, booping her nose, “going to take such good care of you and keep you as comfortable as I can. You haven’t been feeling well, hm?”

“It’s not thaaaaaaaaaaaat bad,” she groans, wiggling in his arms playfully a bit, “just a little more tired than usual, and you know that my stomach has been weird.”

“So I’m going to dote on you,” he says matter-of-factly, “because I love you and our baby and it’s what you both deserve.”

“You’re definitely going to annoy me,” she laughs, before sighing fondly, “but I really did get so, so lucky. I’m so glad I’m here, Chim, in L.A. and I’m so glad I fell in love with you and I’m so glad that we’re having a baby. I know I keep saying it but I can’t say it enough. I’m so happy, Howie.”

“Well, Miss Madeline,” he whispers, eyes tearing up a bit, “that makes three of us.”


End file.
